Thursday, February 21, 2013

Whiskey Lists: Bottled in Bond Whiskeys

Our last whiskey list looks at Bottled in Bond whiskeys. The Bottled in Bond act was passed in 1897 to restore some consumer confidence to the whiskey industry. It guaranteed to consumers that whiskey labeled "bottled in bond" would conform to certain standards of quality. Even through mid-century, the bottled in bond ("BIB") label was a sign of quality. In an early 1960s catalog I have from an old Los Angeles liquor store, the bourbons are divided into regular and bonded.

A bonded whiskey has to conform to the following standards. It must be (1) made of one type of whiskey (i.e. bourbon or rye); (2) produced by one distillery in one distilling season; (3) aged at least four years; (4) 100 proof/50% abv. (Any spirit can be bonded, but whiskeys are the most common).

Today, bonded whiskey has faded from the shelf, and few people beyond major whiskey nerds know what the term means. I've tried to put together a list of all of the bonded whiskeys that are currently available, though many of them are available only in the Kentucky area. Heaven Hill seems to make the widest variety of bonded whiskeys; indeed, more than half of the labels listed below are from Heaven Hill.

I thought one of the stipulations was that the whiskey must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse under government supervision? Not just aged 4 years in any old warehouse. Maybe I'm missing something?

Lazer, BIBs have to be 100 proof which counts out Wild Turkey. Even those that are 100 proof have to be from a single distilling season and Knob Creek makes no such claim.

As some have noted, any single barrel at 100 proof and over four years old (such as Four Roses or Rock Hill Farms) could have a BIB designation, but I'm only listing those that are actually BIB. That means that not only do they comply with the requirements, but they list the distillery number on the label.

BIBs are the only American whiskeys required to disclose the distillery on the label.

Since producers already must have only whisky from a particular "distilling season" (whatever that is), I wonder why producers do not try to distinguish their BIB in offerings by making yearly vintages. That way we could compare the virtues of say a 2006 OGD BIB with a 2007 VOB BIB. It seems like vintages are popular with the yearly Evan Williams single barrels yet not possible with many others where whiskies do not have an age statement (Buffalo Trace) or only an at least so many years old statement like Knob Creek ( i.e. at least 9). Perhaps vintages could put more life into this moribund category?

Sku, I have a late add to this thread: I.W. Harper used to release bottled-in-bonds at 100 proof. Some years ago, I found a number of these labeled as distilled in Spring 1976 and bottles in Fall 1982 from Frankfort, DSP KY 1. I have found these both in 750 ml and 1L.